Free Republic

The sisters had gifted the monastery to the Vatican in a last ditch attempt to save their way of life, only to have the Pope forcibly remove and defrock them.(Crisis Magazine) — For more than seven hundred years, the Franciscan monastery of Santa Chiara has stood overlooking the glorious waters of the Amalfi Coast in the town of Ravello, the “city of music” and the “pearl of the Amalfi.” Poor Clares came to Ravello in 1297, just after the death of St. Francis, and the monastery and town have flourished together for almost a thousand years. The monastery grounds, church,...

A couple in their 90s - who weren't able to celebrate when they first got married 77 years ago - were finally able to have the wedding they always dreamed of, thanks to their hospice-carers. Devoted couple Royce and Frankie King, both 98, didn't have wedding photos taken when they first tied the knot on September 16, 1944 - since they had to squeeze in their nuptials before Royce went off to fight in the war. Back in 1944, Frankie, who didn't even have time to get a wedding gown, wore a white dress she already owned, while Royce donned...

[Catholic Caucus] Below the Belt: Francis Ridicules Cardinal Müller In a conversation on the plane to Maputo, Mozambique (September 4), the German bootlicker-journalist Andreas English said to Pope Francis that “not all Germans believed the bad things said about him by the German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller”. According to NyTimes.com, Francis asked back what Cardinal Müller had said about him. Englisch answered that Müller wanted to save Francis’ papacy from bad theology. Francis replied that Cardinal Müller “has good intentions and he is a good man, but he is like a child.” In the same conversation, Francis called his decision...